Language Machines: Sociotechnical Practices and Ideologies at Work in Large Language Models – An Online Launch

Friday, April 17, 2026
12pm to 1:30pm Eastern Time (UTC-4)

Register for the Zoom meeting at: tinyurl.com/languagemach...

Nonhuman situational enmeshments—How participants build temporal infrastructures for ChatGPT

Nils Klowait, Maria Erofeeva

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

The algorithm's hidden layers: Nurturant matrices, quantitative poetry, and the religious ethics of language technology

Zachary Sheldon

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

“It doesn't give a s*** about Arabic or English”: Semiotic ideologies and demarcation among LLM engineers in Amman, Jordan

Tariq Adely

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

The chatbot's real self: On the archaeology of artificial personas

Courtney Handman

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

What if you had a collection of research all in one place that showcased the importance of ambivalence, bivalency and ambiguity in our understanding of language? Look no further than this Virtual Issue curated by Sarah Muir! anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

Language machines: Toward a linguistic anthropology of large language models

by Siri Lamoureaux, Michael Castelle, Anna Weichselbraun

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

Human tests for machine models: What lies “Beyond the Imitation Game”? by Noya Kohavi & Anna Weichselbraun

doi.org/10.1111/jola...

#LinguisticAnthropology #Anthropology #ethnography
#LargeLanguageModels

The Society for Linguistic Anthropology holds an annual student essay competition at the undergraduate level. Submissions are due June 15, 2026.

linguisticanthropology.org/about/prizes/

The Society for Linguistic Anthropology invites submissions for the Edward Sapir Book Prize, through March 15, 2026.

To submit your book for the SLA Book Prizes, please fill out the submission form: forms.gle/6n8AqLzSoWwB....

Questions can be addressed to slamemberatlarge@gmail.com

"The Semiotics and Politics of Perspective," a special issue of Anthropological Quarterly is out now!

muse.jhu.edu/issue/56418

Anthropology News just published their latest issue, including a wonderful SLA column from Deina Rabie on Zohran Mamdani’s subversion of White public space in his recent mayoral campaign.

www.anthropology-news.org/articles/how...

Creating Belonging: Ritual Recruitment of Hanoi Sign Language Interpreters

A talk by Aron Marie
(University of Virginia)
Friday, February 13th
12pm EST

Join via Zoom:
brown.zoom.us/j/9978486225...
Meeting ID: 997 8486 2256
Passcode: drig

From A for algebra to T for tariffs: Arabic words used in English speech

From A for algebra to T for tariffs: Arabic words used in English speech https://aje.io/kw1deh

What is the Maine Accent? | Maine Explained YouTube video by Maine Public

Mainers are known for their accent—but what is the Maine accent, really?

A Maine Explained video from Maine Public explores how Mainers hear their own speech, how outsiders perceive it, and whether it’s changing. A great look at language, identity, and history.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAKT...

Journal of Linguistic Anthropology | AAA Journal | Wiley Online Library Click on the title to browse this issue

The December 2025 issue of the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology @journaloflinganth.bsky.social has been published!

Be sure to check out visual summaries and author interviews on the JLA's social media channels:
linktr.ee/journaloflin...

anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15481395...

Initial review deadline is Dec 8, 2025, with publication dates spread across 2026.

A great chance to bring language-centered research and observation to a broad public audience.

Students and faculty connected to AAA/SLA can submit ideas, and the editorial team offers supportive guidance throughout the process.

Get in touch with the co-editors: Siri Lamoureaux (lamoureaux@em-lyon.com) and Courtney Handman (chandman@austin.utexas.edu)

Anthropology News - The award-winning member magazine by the AAA The American Anthropological Association's member magazine, covering anthropology news topics ranging from Archaeology to Language.

The SLA column in Anthropology News is gearing up for its 2026 issues, and proposals are now welcomed. Stories and photo essays that highlight linguistic-anthropological insights—whether through compelling narrative or striking images—are all eligible.

www.anthropology-news.org

In linguistic anthropology, these choices highlight how artists navigate belonging, visibility, and experimentation in global pop music.

#societyforlinguisticanthropology #soclinganth #linguisticanthropology #sociolinguistics #latinmusic #culturalidentity

Rosalía, Bad Bunny, and the Debate on Language and Identity in Music - HipLatina Rosalía’s LUX and Bad Bunny’s Spanish only vision show the beauty of range in Latin music.

Rosalía’s shift across many languages and Bad Bunny’s focus on Spanish reflect two different ways of using language to express culture and creativity.

hiplatina.com/rosalia-bad-...

Listening, Semiotics, and So Much More w/ Michael Berman by Tomayto Tomahto In language-centric fields we privilege the speaker. Linguistics looks at spoken or signed utterances; linguistic anthropology does as well. But Michael Berman looks at listening, which for him is a process wherein you limit or shift your language practices so as to avoid being generated as a certain type of person (often within a hierarchical relationship). That’s listening. It's about avoiding (or not) taxonomy, stereotypes, perception, and it necessitates an understanding of the power that our ears have. This episode cannot be reduced to a few thematic elements: Michael and I discuss listening, semiotics, C.S. Peirce, suffering and compassion, critiques of linguistics and other sciences, the implicit economic models undergirding scholarship, and his fieldwork in Japan—among other things. I’m struck by how much ground we cover, and yet we make a limited number of rhetorical and analytic moves. Whether we’re talking about what constitutes listening, language ideology, religion, etc.—we’re always taking the minuscule and making it representative (or symptomatic) of something bigger. Maybe that’s a paranoid reading, but I think it’s useful in the context of our conversation. What appears as an individual assessment of language is in fact a societally-engineered and collectively-upheld assessment. What appears as a certain niche orientation to data turns out to be symptomatic of widespread abuses of scientific frameworks. And, as Michael will remind us, the creation of categories and production of knowledge has effects. So let’s pay attention. This episode took inspiration from the questions that Jonathan Rosa asked in his episode on Tomayto Tomahto a year ago. Before listening to Michael, I encourage listening to Jonathan’s episode if you haven’t already. Michael BermanC.S. PeirceJonathan Rosa’s episode Toward a linguistic anthropological approach to listening: An ear with power and the policing of “active listening” volunteers in JapanReligion overcoming religions: Suffering, secularism, and the training of interfaith chaplains in JapanForms of the Affects “Why The Problem Isn’t Single-Parent Families” Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia?This episode was written, edited, and produced by Talia Sherman. All artwork by Maja Mishevska.

Tomayto Tomahto #podcast: Listening, Semiotics, and So Much More w/ guest Michael Berman

We look forward to hearing from you!

SLA Nominations Committee
Britta Ingebretson (bingebretson@fordham.edu)
Chip Zuckerman (zuckermc@bc.edu)
Elaine Chun (chune@mailbox.sc.edu)

The SLA is especially interested in increasing its participation; we hope to move well beyond our personal networks as we search for contributors.

Should I consider it? Yes! If you are interested in working alongside other linguistic anthropologists and in shaping the future of the SLA, we encourage you to nominate yourself or to be willing to be nominated.

So please get in touch if you are curious about getting involved in the SLA, especially if you know very little about how it all works. We are eager to help members new to SLA service understand how they might contribute.

We (the members of the nominations committee) are also happy to talk to you about the positions or the process as well as to connect you with others who have held a given position previously or currently hold it.

If you nominate another member, please ensure that they are willing to be nominated! The deadline for nominations is November 3, 2025.

How can I learn more about these positions? You can find descriptions of the open positions on the SLA website: linguisticanthropology.org/blog/2025/10...

How do I submit a nomination? Nominating yourself may sound mysterious, but it is a simple process. Just email us your name and the position you are interested in to get started.